Spurs General Manager Brian Wright smiles after landing the No. 4 and No. 8 picks at the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery in Chicago. Credit: Instagram / @Spurs

During Sunday’s NBA lottery in Chicago, the San Antonio Spurs weren’t as lucky as last year, but the team still managed to secure the No. 4 and No. 8 picks in the upcoming draft.

Indeed, the Spurs’ luck on Sunday was a best-case scenario.

The Silver and Black kept their pick, which landed at No. 4. However, they also got the Toronto Raptors’ pick at No. 8. If the Raptors’ pick — obtained via the Jokab Poetl trade last year — had landed in the top 6, it would not have conveyed to San Antonio.

Although the Spurs have two lottery — or top 14 — picks in the upcoming NBA Draft, this year’s class is far different than last year’s. During the 2023 NBA Draft, French phenom Victor Wembanyama was the consensus No. 1 pick among basketball analysts, and most expected Brandon Miller and Scoot Henderson to round out the top three. However, there’s no clear consensus among analysts about who first pick of the next NBA Draft will be. Some have even called this year’s class “historically bad.”

Spurs GM Brian Wright dismissed the “weak draft” evaluations in a conversation with Express-News beat writer Tom Orsborn following the lottery.

“I say this all the time, there are players in every draft, and you just got to do your homework,” Wright told the daily. “We do think there are good players in this draft who can help us.”

The Spurs will make their picks Wednesday, June 26, during the 2024 NBA Draft.

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This article appears in May 1-14, 2024.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...